Over 1000 Sitkans responded to a cruise tourism survey recently circulated by the city’s tourism task force. When the task force met Thursday night (1-25-24), they reviewed the survey results and continued to grapple with questions about how to “right size” tourism in Sitka.
The survey asked Sitkans to share specific numbers they’d like to see for the 2025 season. The majority of respondents said they want less tourism and support city regulation of that tourism. Most also supported having at least one designated “quiet day” each week, and, on average, supported having about 400,000 cruise ship visitors per season.
In addition to reviewing survey data, the task force wrestled with questions raised in recent town halls on the topic – like whether an increase in tourism could put Sitka’s rural status at risk, and how the city…
